You will begin this paper with an introduction paragraph that explains the topic you’ve chosen and your interest in that topic.

You will begin this paper with an introduction paragraph that explains the topic you’ve chosen and your interest in that topic. By the end of this first paragraph, your readers should have a clear idea of exactly what you plan to write your paper about. Remember, your final argumentative research essay that you work on throughout this course will be argumentative in nature, and you’ll support your argument using information from credible, scholarly sources. Therefore, your topic will need to be complex and nuanced—a straightforward factual report or informative paper will not meet the requirements on your assignments going forward.

After you establish your topic in the first paragraph, the remainder of your paper will be devoted to elaborating on this topic, particularly with respect to potential avenues for further research. This is where it will be especially helpful to call upon the ideas you came up with in your brainstorming.



Your writing should include illustrative details and examples to help convey your ideas in a manner that will be informative and engaging. The body of your paper should demonstrate that your topic is weighty enough to warrant an entire research paper devoted to it.



When complete, your essay should include an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You should not include any research or information from outside sources at this point—consider this essay a further chance to clarify and organize your thoughts about the topic before you begin your research. Your paper should be two typed, double-spaced pages in size 12 font.